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John McEnroe wants two major rule changes in tennis but warns top players may not like one of them

Photo by Dustin Satloff/Getty Images
Photo by Dustin Satloff/Getty Images
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John McEnroe continues to be a key voice within the tennis world, with his latest exploits focusing heavily on Wimbledon.

McEnroe was critical of Jack Draper following his exit from Wimbledon, where the ATP number four was the top British hope.

Cam Norrie is the last British player remaining in the singles event, with two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz his next opponent.

World number one Jannik Sinner and seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic also remain, with the Wimbledon shocks having largely taken place on the WTA Tour.

The tournament has also involved plenty of controversy, with Taylor Fritz calling for an electronic line calling rule change amid the system’s debut at SW19 this year.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova speaks to the match umpire as the hawk eye line calling system is checked for a fault during the Ladies' Singles fourth round match against Sonay Kartal of Great Britain on day seven of The Championships Wimbledon 2025 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.
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John McEnroe says top players won’t like one of his two proposed tennis rule changes

And speaking on 6-Love-6 on BBC Sounds, his fellow American McEnroe has now called for not one but two rule changes in tennis after what he has witnessed lately.

Asked if second serve should be scrapped, he said: “That would be heresy. I don’t see that ever happening.

READ MORE: John McEnroe responds when asked if he thinks Novak Djokovic will retire instantly if he wins Wimbledon this year

“Play lets, I would play lets. I think that is more exciting but the top players would not want it because it adds an element of uncertainty and luck. That is why I don’t think you will see it but I would like to see it.”

And when the idea for men’s Grand Slam tennis to go to three sets was proposed, McEnroe replied: “My proposal is a slight compromise. It would be best of five sets and a 10 point breaker at two sets all.

“That is what I would suggest. If you go to a fifth set it’s a 10 point tie-breaker, so why not in a fourth if you have played three or four hours?”

Wimbledon makes changes to electronic line calling system after controversy

It remains to be seen if the tennis powers that be will humour such proposals from seven-time Grand Slam champion McEnroe.

He is at least undoubtedly respected in the sport, with three of his successes having arrived at Wimbledon.

READ MORE: Pat Cash slams ‘mind boggling’ umpire decision at Wimbledon which he thought was ‘absolutely ridiculous’

Despite its traditional values, the iconic grass court Grand Slam has proven that it is more than open to change.

That was highlighted by its decision to abolish line judges starting this year, although it hasn’t exactly gone to plan.

In fact, tournament organisers have already been forced into a change with the system to remove the possibility of human error.

The move comes after the system was accidentally deactivated during the match between Sonay Kartal and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in round four.

Following the Centre Court drama, where Briton Kartal benefited from the replaying of a point against Russian Pavlyuchenkova, Hawk-Eye operators can no longer manually deactivate ball tracking.

Previously under line judges players could challenge calls with an electronic review, but such challenges are not permitted under the current system, while video replays are not used.